Tony Gwynn

Let Wade Boggs and Cal Ripken, Jr., who are chasing their 3,000th career hits this summer, dream of game-winning homers.All Tony Gwynn wants for his 3,000th hit is a grounder between the shortstop and third baseman.He calls it the ``5.5 hole'' - that gap between the third baseman (the No.5 player on your scorecard) and shortstop (No.6).Gwynn has it written on the tongues of his shoes as a reminder. Sometimes when Gwynn steps up to the plate, catchers stare at his shoes and ask, ``Hey T, what's the 5.5 hole?

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- When the bus carrying Tony Gwynn, Cal Ripken Jr. and baseball's other Hall of Famers headed toward the site of Sunday's induction, it was quickly evident that this wasn't just another of the annual ceremonies. "A lot of the Hall of Famers were saying, `Nobody's ever sat on those hills before,' those type of things," Ripken said after the ceremony. "I didn't know if they were messing with us or not. It was a sea of orange out there, at least to my eyes." Orange, of course, is the Baltimore Orioles' dominant color.

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- When the bus carrying Tony Gwynn, Cal Ripken Jr. and baseball's other Hall of Famers headed toward the site of Sunday's induction, it was quickly evident that this wasn't just another of the annual ceremonies. "A lot of the Hall of Famers were saying, `Nobody's ever sat on those hills before,' those type of things," Ripken said after the ceremony. "I didn't know if they were messing with us or not. It was a sea of orange out there, at least to my eyes." Orange, of course, is the Baltimore Orioles' dominant color.

TONY GWYNN Fundamentals Birthday: May 9, 1960 Hometown: Long Beach, Calif. Years in majors: 20 Team: San Diego Padres Position: Right field Vote pct: 97.6 Year of eligibility: 2007 Defining digits 3,141 Of the 27 men who have collected at least 3,000 hits, Gwynn's total ranks 18th all time. .338 Gwynn's career batting average was better than such greats as Stan Musial (.331), Wade Boggs (.328), Rod Carew (.328) and Honus Wagner (.327). 8 Gwynn's number of batting titles tied Honus Wagner for the National League record and trailed only Ty Cobb's 12 for the major-league mark.

Hey, good news for hardball fans. The Hall of Fame vote will be announced today, so maybe people will stop talking about Mark McGwire. Maybe we can spend a little time discussing Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn, the two players whose credentials are beyond reproach, or Jim Rice, Andre Dawson and Goose Gossage, who continue to march toward Cooperstown. This is McGwire's first year on the ballot, as you might have heard. It's not going to be his last, but maybe we won't have to hear so much about McGwire and his ties to steroids use in future years.

NEW YORK - He might be more famous than this. He might have made it to Yankee Stadium earlier to take a wide-eyed tour of the famed monuments. And he might have been here playing in another World Series long before Saturday night.All Tony Gwynn would have had to do was leave San Diego when the Padres weren't answering his prayers.Players take the free-agency route all the time. No big deal. He'd even have had legions of sympathizers.But then bailing out would go against everything Gywnn is about - loyalty, integrity, consistency.

In the era of prolific power, the imminent arrival of Wade Boggs and Tony Gwynn at 3,000 hits underscores the ongoing value of prolific persistence.Or as Boggs put it:``With Mark [McGwire] and Sammy [Sosa] and all those other guys hitting all those home runs, Tony and I kind of get washed to the beach, but I think we've gotten to the point in our career where we've proved that it's OK to say to a Little Leaguer, `Hey, you don't have to hit the ball over the fence. It's OK to hit a line drive.

ST. LOUIS - Tony Gwynn and baseball history have an uncomfortable alliance.He takes measured steps to the plate on the way to 3,000 hits, understanding that one man's passion for the game has escalated into a frantic obsession cluttered with distracting subplots.A former teammate questioning his commitment to the team. Burglars breaking into a sports memorabilia store in a San Diego suburb and stealing limited-edition sports plaques and Tony Gwynn bears. Fans creating a imposing gauntlet on a short walk from the downtown Marriott to Busch Stadium.

Baseball Hall of Fame voters made an unmistakable statement with their ballots Tuesday, rejecting steroid-tainted slugger Mark McGwire while enthusiastically embracing Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn in their first year of eligibility. When the three players retired five years ago, it was widely assumed they would be inducted together at Cooperstown, N.Y. Ripken was the game's iron man, having played in a record 2,632 consecutive games and proving that a large man could excel at shortstop.

For Cal Ripken Jr., the pressure of playing in 2,632 consecutive games should be nothing compared to standing in front of family, friends and about 50,000 fans as he is inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday. Joining him will be Padres star Tony Gwynn, who, like Ripken, was voted in on the first ballot. It's always nice to be liked, so here is a list of some players who received the highest percentage of votes all-time for the Hall of Fame: 1. Tom Seaver, 425 of 430 (98.84)

GAME'S OVER,WORLD TURNS Life goes on and we still have something to talk about even though the BCS Championship Game has come to an end. But don't you wonder what they've been doing in, say, Montana for the last few weeks? What? You never think about what they're doing in Montana? OK, truthfully, neither do I. JAY LENO'S JOKE NO. 1 "As you know, Tony Romo dropped the ball on a field-goal attempt, costing the Dallas Cowboys the game. But the good news is he picked up an endorsement deal -- the Tony Romo Butterfinger candy bar."

Baseball Hall of Fame voters made an unmistakable statement with their ballots Tuesday, rejecting steroid-tainted slugger Mark McGwire while enthusiastically embracing Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn in their first year of eligibility. When the three players retired five years ago, it was widely assumed they would be inducted together at Cooperstown, N.Y. Ripken was the game's iron man, having played in a record 2,632 consecutive games and proving that a large man could excel at shortstop.

Hey, good news for hardball fans. The Hall of Fame vote will be announced today, so maybe people will stop talking about Mark McGwire. Maybe we can spend a little time discussing Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn, the two players whose credentials are beyond reproach, or Jim Rice, Andre Dawson and Goose Gossage, who continue to march toward Cooperstown. This is McGwire's first year on the ballot, as you might have heard. It's not going to be his last, but maybe we won't have to hear so much about McGwire and his ties to steroids use in future years.

Lost Sock Memorial Day. Create an appropriate ceremony in tribute to those countless lost socks, but then set yourself free with this declaration: "Lost socks be darned!" JERRY JABS Based on what we know about Babe Ruth, if he were alive today he'd be another John Daly -- just a lot better at his sport. SPEAKING OF DALY If someone forced me to put just one $5,000 chip into a slot machine, I'd stand there -- too terrified to pull the arm. ON THE JOB Last week when ESPN.com reported Kobe Bryant's wife had given birth, it was written, "ESPN's Jim Gray reported she was 6 pounds, 7 ounces and 18.5 inches long."

Fox Sports announcer Joe Buck certainly keeps busy this time of year, calling both baseball playoff and NFL games during the same week. But for national network announcers, he has nothing on Jon Miller and Joe Morgan. ESPN's longtime top pairing is in the midst of a four-day, four-city tour to start the baseball playoffs. Yet despite all the travel, the acclaimed Sunday Night Baseball team hasn't lost any of the sharpness or enthusiasm that makes up the best pairing in baseball. Their work, along with informative between-innings studio breaks, gave baseball fans the best information and analysis in the playoffs.

ST. LOUIS - He punched the ball into the deepest part of Busch Stadium, onto a grassy strip at center field 451 feet from home plate.Mark McGwire popped a big bubble with his gum between second and third base, a causal gesture to punctuate his slam-dance with history.His teammates met McGwire at the plate, amid the flashblubs, fireworks, screaming scoreboard and thunderous standing ovation from the capacity crowd of 45,106 that would last for five minutes Thursday night.Big Mac knows the drill already.

Kevin McReynolds' third-inning triple broke a 2-2 tie and lifted the San Diego Padres to a 7-4 victory over the California Angels at Yuma, Ariz. McReynolds' hit to right-center field scored Tim Flannery and Tony Gwynn. Graig Nettles' single to right scored McReynolds. The Padres collected 13 hits off three Angels pitchers, including starter Ron Romanick, who yielded five earned runs in 1/3 innings.

Orioles right-hander Sidney Ponson had allowed just four earned runs in his last 16 innings following a heart-to-heart over dinner with Roger Clemens. The six-time Cy Young winner stressed the importance of dedication and conditioning, two facets long lacking from Ponson's game. Here's something you wouldn't expect: a mention of Tigers first baseman Randall Simon and future Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn in the same sentence. Said Tigers hitting coach Merv Rettenmund: "[Simon] has no strike zone.

David Taylor, picked in the third round of the Major League Baseball draft Tuesday by the Los Angeles Dodgers, finds himself in good company. Past third-round choices who have had sensational careers include: Flamethrower Randy Johnson (Atlanta Braves, 1982). A future hall-of-fame lefthander with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Johnson has led the majors in strikeouts for three consecutive seasons and also led the National League last season in winning percentage (.731), complete games (8), shutouts (3)